Russia

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Judge: Vladimir Putin Is 'Probably' a Murderer

Inquiry links Russian president to poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko

(Newser) - A British judge declared a remarkable thing Thursday: Vladimir Putin is "probably" a murderer. The finding came after an inquiry into the high-profile death of former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko , who was fatally poisoned in 2006. Judge Robert Owen said he's certain that two Russian agents laced Litvinenko'...

Russia Cracks Down on Foul-Mouthed Prisoners

New rules prohibits swearing in prison

(Newser) - Some prisoners in Russia are facing a harsh new rule: no swearing. Citing an Interfax report, the New York Times reports that “socializing with other individuals using lewd, threatening, demeaning, or slanderous expressions or slang” is now a no-no at pretrial detention centers, where detainees often live in large...

Over a Year, Russian Official Quietly Stole a 30-Mile Road

He then sold off the slabs for profit: cops

(Newser) - Jokes about highway robbery abound after a Russian prison chief was arrested and charged with the unlikely crime of having stolen a 30-mile stretch of public road. Russia's Investigative Committee says Alexander Protopopov directed the deconstruction of a concrete highway in the sparsely populated Komi region, where he was...

Patient in Russian Hospital Dies After Punch by Doctor

The doctor was fired and faces prison time

(Newser) - A Russian doctor may go from scrubs to a prison jumpsuit for punching a patient who later died, CNN reports. Video from security cameras at the hospital in Belgorod captured the Dec. 29 attack by a doctor identified as Ilya Zelendinov, reports the BBC . An autopsy of the patient—identified...

Google Translate Hits Russia With Lord of the Rings-Inspired Burn

Also, Russia's foreign minister is actually a 'sad little horse'

(Newser) - Everyone knows Google Translate can be a bit iffy at times. But it's not often that its mistranslations burn an entire country. Vocativ reports the service was recently caught changing "Russian Federation" into "Mordor" when translating from Ukrainian to Russian. As the Telegraph explains, Mordor is "...

Putin: US Is a Threat to Russia

America, allies included in document listing security threats to Moscow

(Newser) - It's a bit past the time of year for Santa to make a list, but Vladimir Putin is making one of his own—of security threats to Russia—and he's putting "the USA and its allies" on it. The document, called " About the Strategy of National...

Russian ISIS Victim Led 'a Double Life'

Magomed Khasiev traveled to Syria to find friend: source

(Newser) - In the minutes before his execution by an ISIS militant in Syria, Chechen Magomed Khasiev confessed to being a spy recruited by Russian intelligence agency Federal Security Service—something Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov quickly denied. But many people who knew the 23-year-old say he "seemed to live a double...

Shed Fat in Siberia, Get Coal Dumped in Your Yard

The concept may even be turned into a reality-TV show

(Newser) - Shedding the pounds in Siberia can come with a particularly welcome reward—coal. When Aman Tuleyev, the long-serving—and somewhat overweight—governor of Russia's Kemerovo region, promised earlier this year to reward locals with 1.5 metric tons of coal for every 10 kilos [around 22 pounds] lost, everyone...

Man Downloads Fallout 4, Loses Wife and Job

Russian is now suing game's creator, claiming he developed an addiction

(Newser) - A 28-year-old gamer from the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk is suing Fallout 4 maker Bethesda Game Studios for an addiction he says cost him his wife, job, and health. After seeing an ad and downloading the game last month, he found himself emerging from a bunker into a post-apocalyptic world,...

Cat Has 90% of Vote to Be Russian City's Next Mayor

Barsik is apparently more trustworthy than the 6 humans in the race

(Newser) - Tired of the dog-eat-dog politics in their Russian city, the residents of Barnaul say they want a cat to be their next mayor. The Siberian city of 650,000 people, which lies 1,800 miles east of Moscow, is to get a new mayor next week when a commission comprising...

Putin: That Trump Guy Is &#39;Talented&#39;
 Putin: That Trump 
 Guy Is 'Talented' 
the rundown
Dec 17, 2015 10:45 AM CST

Putin: That Trump Guy Is 'Talented'

He weighs in on US race and other topics in his year-end news conference

(Newser) - Vladimir Putin held forth for about three hours Thursday in his annual end-of-year news conference, and, as usual, he made headlines for venturing into topics large and small. Some examples:
  • On Donald Trump: "He is a bright personality, a talented person, no doubt about it," he said, per
...

Russia Fires Warning Shots at Turk Fishing Boat

Destroyer was trying to avoid a collision, says defense ministry

(Newser) - A Russian destroyer fired warning shots at a Turkish fishing boat Sunday in the latest tensions between the two nations, reports Reuters . Russia's Defense Ministry says its warship, the Smetlivy, was just trying to avoid a collision with the unnamed vessel after repeated attempts to warn it over the...

Moscow Bringing WiFi to the Dead

Cemeteries' connection will likely bring visitors, too

(Newser) - As part of their campaign to bring WiFi to crowded public spots in the Russian capital, Moscow authorities are connecting up an unlikely new location: cemeteries. The Moscow city hall said Thursday that free WiFi—or as NPR calls it, Die-Fi—will be available at the city's three main...

The Human Hair Business Gets Downright Dirty

On lice, blood, and ethics

(Newser) - In the US, women and girls sometimes donate their hair to groups that make wigs—think Locks of Love—not because hair is hard to come by but because it is so expensive. But many also buy wigs and extensions made of real human hair—and chances are good that...

Army Deserter Shacked Up in Russian Forest for 11 Years

30-year-old's own family thought he was dead, buried another man by mistake

(Newser) - For more than a decade, a Russian army deserter was believed dead and buried—until he turned up recently hiding out in the woods in a remote eastern part of the country, the Guardian reports. A police spokeswoman said Monday that cops on the Kamchatka peninsula hauled in a 30-year-old...

ISIS Claims Video Shows Beheading of Russian Spy

It claims the execution is retaliation for Russia's bombings in Syria

(Newser) - ISIS released a video Wednesday it claims shows a Russian jihadist beheading a Russian spy, NBC News reports. In the video—titled "You Shall be Disappointed and Humiliated O Russians"—the victim identifies himself as Magomed Khasiyev from the Chechen Republic. According to Arutz Sheva , the 23-year-old admits...

Russia: Turkey's President, Family Buys ISIS Oil

Erdogan says he'll step down if allegations are proven

(Newser) - Russia has made its boldest slam yet about Turkey in the wake of its downed military jet : Russia's deputy defense minister on Wednesday said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is directly involved in buying oil from the Islamic State. Turkey buys stolen oil from Syria and Iraq and...

NATO Crosses Russia, Invites Tiny New Member

Russia considers Montenegro move 'confrontational'

(Newser) - Montenegro is smaller than Connecticut and it has far fewer people, but the former Yugoslav republic is now punching well above its weight in international relations. Despite Russia's objections, NATO invited the country to join the alliance on Wednesday, marking its first expansion since Albania and Croatia joined in...

Obama: Climate Change Affects Military, Too

He calls it an 'economic and security imperative'

(Newser) - Why are world leaders gathering near Paris for climate talks when there's a war going on in Syria? "Because this one trend, climate change, affects all trends," President Obama said at a news conference on Tuesday, reports the New York Times . "This is an economic and...

Downed Russian Pilot's Body Heading Home

Turkey is flying man it shot down back to Russia

(Newser) - The Turkish prime minister says Turkey has taken delivery of the body of a Russian pilot who was killed after Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian warplane. Ahmet Davutoglu says the pilot's body was brought to the border province of Hatay "through Turkey's initiatives" early Sunday and...

Stories 1841 - 1860 | << Prev   Next >>